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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Gettin' Loaded Again

Since purchasing Load at Sephora in NYC back in April, it has been ALL of my friend's favorite polish. It's the one that gets brought up everytime my obsession with my nails is discussed, it's the first polish they think of, and it's the first polish that's mentioned when they explain my hobby to someone else. I think this happens for obvious reasons. It's an off white creme called Load. I mean c'mon. I love my friends :)

So today I asked a friend what color polish I should wear. Instead of a color, she just straight up says Load. Well, I haven't worn it in months and the darn thing did cost me $14 and a trip to NYC (granted that's not why I went), but still.

I wanted to do something besides wear it on its own because I had already posted about it. This is what I came up with.

I sat around for a while with just Load on my nails (I am not mature enough to handle writing this). I figured I'd end up stamping over it, but I knew I didn't want a really heavy full nail stamp over it because I didn't want to hide Load. Then I was doing something and all of a sudden realized navy and dark purple would look gorgeous over it. So I flipped through my plates to find something that I could use for both.

I'm loving the color combination, don't know how much I love the stamp I chose. It's definitely not bad, but I wish it was less defined meaning it was more... swirly I guess? instead of it looking so much like a fern. I think it's cool and vintage-y, though. It reminds me of old china or something. Maybe not china, but old opaque glass like a lamp or something decorative.

I've already talked about Load's formula, but I want to redo my opinion of the formula and application. The first time I wore it, it was AWFUL to apply. It had cuticle drag, it wasn't very manageable, you get the idea. Well today, I was prepared for it... and it was a THOUSAND times better.

Tips For Applying Illamasqua LoadThis polish requires babying, and so long as you're aware of that and prepared for it, it'll be a piece of cake. This is definitely not a slap-on-and-go polish. So here is what you can do to help.
♥ You need to paint one nail at a time. Duh. But what I mean is you need to paint one nail, and put the brush back in the bottle. Let it relax in the bottle for a few seconds. The polish dries very quickly on the brush and it makes it too thick when you apply it. So it needs to rest before you go to the next nail.
♥ Paint quickly. Do not spend a ton of time fixing the nail. As soon as it starts getting too thick or sticky, put it brush back in the bottle and let it rest. Letting it rest is the BIGGEST help.
♥ Use very few strokes. This just sorta goes along with the paint quickly. You should always use as few strokes as possible, but you HAVE to with this polish. And again, if it gets unmanageable, get the brush back in the bottle and let it rest.
♥ Use a very light touch. Balance your wrist on something so you're not digging the brush into your nail. You need to glide it gently over the nail. This is very important or you will get cuticle drag and streakiness like whoa.

This seems like common sense, but obviously it wasn't for me the first time I used this polish. I was apparently in a rush or something. So follow those steps, and it should help a ton!!